Radiator cap



Dec. 29, 1925. 1,567,393

' H. SCHLAICH RADIATOR CAP Filed March 16, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l Maw,

' INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

. H. SCHLAICH RADIATOR CAP Filed March 16, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 29, 1925.

HERMAN SGHLAICH,

F LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK.

RADIATOR CAP.

Application filed March 16, 1925. Serial No. 15,710.

To all tUll-OWL it may conccmi:

Be it known that I, HERMAN SCI-ILAICH, a citizen of the United States, residing in Long Island City, county of Queens, and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Radiator Caps, of which the following is a specification.

. This invention relates to an improvement in caps for the filling necks of the radiators of water cooled internal combustion engines 7 for automobiles'or the like.

It is one of the objects of the invention to provide an improved form of radiator cap which is adapted especially for supporting a motor heat indicator and constructed to be applied to radiator necks of standard construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hinged radiator cap with the hinge positioned substantially within the periphcry of the body of the cap to improve the appearance of the cap; and to provide a displaced or eccentric opening in the upper end of the body portion of the cap so that the stem of the indicator will have clearance when the cover of the cap is swung open. With respect to this feature the present application is a continuation of my application Serial No. 696,812, filed March 4, 1924..

Another object is to provide the cap with an improved cam latch which will snap closed.

Various other objects and advantages will appear as the description of the invention proceeds.

This application is a continuation in part ofmy pending application Serial No. (596,- 812, filed March 4, 1924.

The invention will be understood from the description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of an embodiment of the invention with an indicating instrument positioned on the cover;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1 showing the cap in section;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 except that the cover is open and the indicating instrument i removed Figure 4: is a bottom plan view of the cap shown in Fig. 1 except the indicating instrument is removed.

. Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts in each of the accompanying views- The radiator cap has a body portion 1 which screws down by means of interior threads 2, positioned at the lower end of the body, over an ordinary neck of a radiator 18. A pair of oppositely extending arms 29 ending in enlarged portions 30 facilitate the positioning of the cap and serve also to improve the appearance thereof. A sloping boss 19 is provided at the roar of the lower end of said body having a threaded hole 20 for a set screw 3 which looks the said cap in position. A hexagonal hole 27 is positioned in the head of the set screw so that it may be driven home by the use of a special socket wrench. After the screw is driven home a lead shot 28 is forced into the hole so that the screw cannot be removed, thereby making the cap theft-proof. The set screw is placed at an angle for the important purpose of permitting the wrench to be rotated above the radiator, thereby facilitating the application of the cap to the radiator neck. In the p 'actice heretofore usual, the screws were placed at a horizontal angle or at an up\ and inclination. By employing a downward inclination, it is possible to use a quick action tool for driving the screw home.

The cap is closed at the top by means of a cover 4 having an opening or central aperture 5 for receiving the stem 21 of an indicating instrun'ient 22. A hinge G of the said cap is contained substantially within the periphery of the body of the cap. By this construction, the projecting portions of the ordinary hinges are eliminated, and, conse quently, the appearance of the cap is very much improved.

The hinge is located substantially in the plane of the gasket at a considerable distance above the lower end of the instrument stem, and consequently clearance must be provided to permit a substantial forward movement of the stem of the indicating instrument when the cover is swung open. This invention contemplates rendering the upper part of the opening eccentric to the remainder of the cap, as in Fig. 2, in which the axis 8 of the upper end of the said open ing is displaced to the front of the axis 9 of the lower end of the opening and of the cap itself.

In order to make the cap fluid-tight, a rubber gasket 11 is provided to it between the body portion and the cover. This rubber gasket is prevented from being forced out of position when the cover is closed, because it is held on its seat at in the body portion by a rib 1O integral with the cover, which rib deforms the gasket in such manner that it is pressed tightly against the periphery or its seat.

A latch 25 or' the cam type is used for locking the cap in the closed position. This latch consists of a pair of links 1% pivoted at 15 to the body and provided at their outward ends with a. camtype latch 16 which engages a projection 1'!" otthe cover. The said cam has a pointed end 26 where the radius of curvature of said cam changes rapidly. By this construction the latch snaps closed, rendering it unnecessary to force the latch home. It is to be observed that the latch is positively held in its closed position because of the torque acting on the cam due to'the resiliency of the rubber gasket which forces the cap against the end 26 of the said, cam.

While I have,'in this specification and the drawings which accompany it, shown certain constructions in which my invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that these are merely illustrative and may be modified in many respects *ithout departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A radiator cap comprising a body portion, a cover for said body portion hinged in the body portion, said cover having a central aperture for receiving the stem of an indicating instrument, the upper part of said body portion being provided with a circular opening, a substantially circular gasket seat surrounding the circular opening, the opening and the gasket seat being eccentric to the cap body to provide clearance for the stem of the instrument in the swinging of the cover between open and closed positions, and means to secure the body portion to theradiator.

2. A radiator cap comprising a body portion having a radiator filling opening 'ex tending therethrough, the lower end of said opening being concentric with said body portion and being constructed to fit over the neck of a radiator, means securing said body portion in position on the neck,a cover for said body portion, a hinge for said cover in the upper rim of the body portion,

' said cover having an aperture for receiving the stem of an indicating instrument, said aperture being substantially coaxial with the lower end of the opening in the body portion, the upper part of the opening in the body portion being bodily displaced toward the side opposite the hinge, to provide a thick upper rim portion in which the hinge may be mounted and a wide clearance space at theside opposite the hinge for the swing ing or the instrument stem.

3. A radiator cap comprising a body portion, a cover therefor, a hinge for said cover, said cover being provided with an aperture for the stem of an indicating instrument, and said body portion being provided with a circular opening therethrough tor receiving the stem of the instrui'nent, said opening being offset relatively to the axis of the cap in a direction away from said hinge to provide clearance for the instrument stem when the cover is being opened.

at. A radiator cap comprising a body portion, a cover therefor, a hinge for said cover, said cover being provided with a central aperture for the stem of an indicating instrument, and said body portion being provided with a radiator filling opening there through into which the stem of the instrument swings at the closing of the cover, said opening being bodily displaced relatively to the axis of the cap toward the side opposite said hinge to provide clearance for the swinging of the instrument stem.

5. A cap for radiators comprising a body portion having an opening therethrough and threaded at its lower end for securement to a radiator neck, a cover, and an instrument centrallymounted on said cover for swinging therewith'with its stem BX- tending below the cover, the opening through the body portion being circular at its upper end and offset forwardly with respect to the axis of the body portion to provide clearance for the instrument stem, the oiisetting of said opening causing the upper rim of the body'portion to taper in thickness from one side thereof, a circular gasket seat surrounding said ofiset circular opening, a gasket in said seat, a hinge connecting the body portion and the cover, the hinge being located substantially within the periphery of the body portion at the thick side thereof and in the plane of the gasket, and means on the cover "for pressing the gasket against its seat.

6. A cap for radiators comprising a body portion having an opening therethrough', said opening being concentric at its lower end with the axis of the body portion-and being circular and eccentric at its upper end with said axis so that the upper rim of the body portion tapersin thickness from one side thereof, a circular seatsurrounding the eccentric end of said opening, a gasket fitted in said seat, a cover hingedly secured at its rear to the body portion substantially within the periphery of the body portion and at the thick side thereof, the'hingeof said cover being located substantially in the plane of the gasket, and a circular rib on thecover presenting a conical surface tothe upper interior portion of the gasket for pressing the gasket downward and outward against its seat in all directions.

1 7. In a radiator cap, 111 combination-,a

body portion and a hinged cover therefor, said cover having a central opening for receiving an instrument stem, a hinge lug on the cover projecting downward from the lower margin of the cover adjacent one side thereof and a gasket pressing rib on the interior face of the cover surrounding the central opening thereof and bodily displaced with reference to the centre of the cover to pass between the hinge lug and the central opening at one side of the cover and close to the edge of the cover at the opposite side thereof, and said body including a gasket seat constructed to hold a sealing gasket,

said gasket seat being displaced similarly to the gasket pressing rib for holding the gasket in position to be pressed continuously to its seat by the rib.

8. A radiator cap as set forth in claim 7 wherein the body portion is provided with a filler opening extending forward to the displaced gasket seat to provide clearance for the swinging of the instrument stem with the cover.

signature to this specification.

HERMAN SGHLAICH. 

